The Gym move on! Having played some good football and remaining solid, despite being unable to put the game to bed sooner, Lucien Favre’s side ensured a 1-0 victory over St-Etienne. The Aiglons have got themselves back on track.

A Gym shaken by the loss in the derby four days earlier. St-Etienne galvanised by their victory over Lyon at the weekend. In a match between a team full of confidence and another looking to find their own confidence once more, the fixture could well have been a trap for the Aiglons.

Favre’s side came out strongly with incredible discipline. In a superb, but slightly stressful way. Were the rest of Ligue 1 banking on the Verts to get the Aiglons further down the line? Well, Ligue 1 will wait. And they can watch over the highlights of this game to see that it will take more than a harsh winter to bring down these Niçois. The homing device (described as a “top corner destroyer” by the stadium announcer, Fabrice Mauro) launched by Wylan Cyprien in the 7th minute -  a divine half-volley completing a fine move flew into the top corner - was a first sign of this.

The team movement and the quality of the Nice passing backed this up. In the same way as their defensive solidity allowed them to hold on as the Verts (set-up in a 4-2-3-1) probed in the second-half.

In leaving Mario Balotelli on the bench at kick-off, Lucien Favre made a strong choice and renewed his faith in the side which had caused the Verts so many problems the first time they had met this season. Kicking-off with a balanced 4-3-3, the Niçois put their opponents under pressure from the get-go. St-Etienne attempted to pressure the first ball, as they had done at home against Lyon. But their press, often disorganised, never really caused the Aiglons any problems.  Mika Seri and Wylan Cyprien were there to decongest the midfield.

In front of them, Younes Belhanda brought his talent and his desire to the side, at the same time as showing his footwork with his quality on the ball. Valentin Eysseric often found gaps due to his precision and pace. The defence remained calm, Cardinale was relaxed and careful. Mobile and probing, Alassane Plea almost secured the game for the Niçois on several occasions in the first-half. But the ball escaped the number 14 in the 11th minute, following a well thought-out move; then his first shot, after a smart one-two with Dalbert, was blocked by Jessy Moulin who had closed down the angle (30’). Then his second, was again blocked by the onrushing goalkeeper in the closing stages of the first-half.

Offensively, St-Etienne wouldn’t cause the Gym any problems in the first-half. The two shots from Romain Hamouma would both miss the target (2’, 18’), in between waves of pressure from the Aiglons.

Eysseric saw his shot deflected by  Théophile-Catherine (26') and then his header would be off-target at the end of the first period. Belhanda shot over (10’) and Baysse saw his header cleared off the line by Lacroix (42’)...

The strength of the block, the calmess of obbadi

Nice largely dominated their 24th league match of the season, and were most on-edge when a strike from Hamouma struck Dalber on the head. Mr Delerue gave a penalty (33’), before realising his mistake.

A magnificent stop from Cardi (51’) at the feet of Saivet stopped the Aiglons from giving up their lead in the second-half. The save came during the only period that the Gym had not dominated during the game, the first twenty minutes of the second-half. Less fluid in their movement and deeper in their own half, the Aiglons recharged their batteries whilst remaining disciplined. Cardinale was masterful as he stopped a strike from Roux at his near post.

Not out of the woods, but with their batteries refuelled, Nice took back control of the game. The arrival of Mounir Obaddi who was direct and calm had a positive effect on the team. They were back and Nice pushed on.

Following a cross from Plea, Wylan Cyprien was once again at the centre of the game 20 minutes before the end. Off target. Some tremendous skill from Obaddi saw Belhanda receive the ball, but his shot was off-target.

Superbly set-up by Eysseric, Plea missed the target (81’) and then, Super Mario saw his shot stopped by Moulin (89’).

It was written in the stars that the score would not change, which allowed the Gym to get level on points with Paris and to reduce the gap to three points from Monaco.

C.D.

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